Geode Capital Management LLC Increases Stake in Eastern Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBC)

On December 21, 2024, it was reported that Geode Capital Management LLC has raised its position in Eastern Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBC) by 23.0% during the third quarter, according to their latest disclosure with the SEC. Following this transaction, the institutional investor now holds 4,587,497 shares after acquiring an additional 859,136 shares in the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC’s total holdings are valued at approximately $75,203,000, representing about 2.14% of Eastern Bankshares.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in Eastern Bankshares. M&T Bank Corp entered a new stake valued at approximately $511,000 during the third quarter. In a significantly larger change, Barclays PLC raised its ownership by a remarkable 284.1%, attaining 617,306 shares worth $10,118,000 after increasing its investment by 456,586 shares during the same period.

Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. also expanded its stake in Eastern Bankshares by 127.8%, now owning 1,800 shares valued at $30,000 after purchasing an extra 1,010 shares in the last quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC made a new purchase valued at $180,000, while EP Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position worth $232,000. Currently, around 71.68% of Eastern Bankshares' stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Predictions

In a separate development, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods recently increased their target price for Eastern Bankshares from $19.00 to $21.00, rating the company as “outperform” in a research note published on December 4th.

Insider Transactions

In insider news, Director Deborah C. Jackson sold 5,713 shares on December 2nd at an average price of $18.56, accumulating a total of $106,033.28 from this transaction. Following this sale, she holds 67,284 shares valued at $1,248,791.04, which marks a 7.83% decrease in her ownership of the company’s stock. This insider activity has been disclosed in filings with the SEC.

Stock Performance Overview

As of the latest trading session, Eastern Bankshares’ stock opened at $17.26. The firm boasts a market capitalization of $3.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.44, and a beta of 0.92. The stock's moving averages stand at $17.74 for the 50-day period and $16.16 for the 200-day period. It has experienced a 52-week range with a low of $12.22 and a high of $19.40.

In its latest quarterly earnings announcement on October 24th, Eastern Bankshares reported earnings of $0.25 per share, which fell short of the expected $0.33 by $0.08. However, their total revenue for the quarter was reported at $299.55 million, surpassing analyst estimates of $215.92 million. The company has a net margin of 38.00% and a return on equity of 4.49%. For the current fiscal year, analysts expect Eastern Bankshares to report an average earnings-per-share of 0.98.

Dividend Announcement

Additionally, Eastern Bankshares declared a quarterly dividend recently, which was paid on December 16th. Investors who owned shares by December 3rd received a $0.12 dividend, amounting to an annualized dividend of $0.48, with a yield of 2.78%. This is an increase from the prior quarterly dividend of $0.11. The ex-dividend date was also December 3rd, and the company’s dividend payout ratio stands at 20.69%.

About Eastern Bankshares

Eastern Bankshares, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Eastern Bank. It provides various banking products and services, catering primarily to retail, commercial, and small business customers. Their offerings include deposit accounts, interest checking, money market accounts, savings accounts, and time deposits.

Geode, Investment, Earnings